HISTORY of
CARTOGRAPHY
Cartographic Design for GIS (Geog. 340)
Prof. Hugh Howard
American River College
THE OLDEST
EXISTING MAP
THE OLDEST MAP
•
Oldest existing map (6200 BCE)*
– Wall painting at Catal Huyuk (Turkey)
– Depict the town plan, with erupting
volcano
*Your textbook references a
far younger map…
Leopard pattern?
DISCLAIMER
•
Ancient cartographic history is spotty
– Few ancient maps remain
•
•
Many have been lost to time
Many have been destroyed
– Clay is easily broken
– Paper and wood decompose and catch
fire
– Bronze maps were often melted down
DISCLAIMER
•
•
Many ancient maps have been
“reconstructed”
Reconstructions are suspect
– Many were reconstructed based upon
manuscripts, which often included vague,
or poetic language
– Many were copied graphically by medieval
monks, who knew little of what they were
copying
DISCLAIMER
•
This presentation is far from complete
– How can thousands of years of
cartography be summed up in a single
lecture?
– Emphasis is given to groups of people and
periods of time that the instructor is most
familiar with
– I urge you to explore what I don’t cover
here
BABYLONIAN
MAPS
BABYLONIAN MAPS
•
Ancient Babylonians had a relatively
advanced culture
– Developed written language in the 4th
millennium BCE
– Had a well-defined measurement system
– Used the Pythagorean Theorem almost
1,000 years before Pythagoras
– Used a sexigesimal number system and
divided the circle into 360 degrees
BABYLONIAN MAPS
•
The Gasur Map (2300 BCE)
– Mountains, water course, place names
– First known example of a topographic map
labeled with cardinal directions
BABYLONIAN MAPS
•
Statue of Prince Gudea (2100 BCE)
– Perhaps the first
map with a bar scale
BABYLONIAN MAPS
•
Town Plan of Nippur (1500 BCE)
– City wall, canal, park
– Appears to be to scale (archaeological
evidence unclear)
BABYLONIAN MAPS
•
Babylonian “World Map” (600 BCE)
– Small-scale map of
the known world
– Babylon & Euphrates
– Encircling ocean is a
recurring theme
– Lands beyond were
visited by legendary
heroes
BABYLONIAN MAPS
•
Babylonian “World Map” (600 BCE)
– Reference to the 4 winds or 4 directions
– Map is an attempt to explain ideas in the
accompanying text
EGYPTIAN
MAPS
EGYPTIAN MAPS
•
Egyptians were advanced for their time
– Developed written language in the 4th
millennium BCE
– Advanced the fields of mathematics,
agriculture, quarrying, medicine, art, and
architecture
•
They left us even less cartographic
evidence than the Babylonians
– Used papyrus and wood instead of clay
EGYPTIAN MAPS
•
Maps on coffin lids
– Lids from 2000 BCE illustrate both water
and land routes to the “Underworld”
•
Idealized plots of land and gardens
– Example from 1400 BCE
Land was to be
tended
to in the afterlife
Curious combination
of perspectives:
plan and profile
EGYPTIAN MAPS
•
Survey maps were perhaps the most
common Egyptian maps
– Annual flooding of the Nile necessitated
accurate maps to re-establish boundaries
– Maps were used for taxation purposes
– There are no surviving examples; we
know about them from Egyptian
manuscripts
EGYPTIAN MAPS
•
Turin Papyrus (Map of the Gold Mines)
– Topographic map (1300 BCE)
– Located between the Nile & Red Sea
– Had two legends
GREEK
MAPS
GREEK MAPS
•
Greek culture and scholarship spans
thousands of years
– Greek literature has an unbroken history
of nearly 3,000 years
•
Reflect a gradual transition from
theoretical to practical cartography
– From idealized concepts of the shape of
the known world and “climata,” to map
projections and coordinate geometry
•
Reconstructions aplenty
GREEK MAPS
•
Achilles Shield (800 BCE)
– From Homer’s Illiad
– Not a geographical
representation, but
a general view of
the world and
man’s place in it
GREEK MAPS
•
Achilles Shield (800 BCE)
– Encircling ocean (again)
– Was ridiculed by later writers, but acted as
a framework for subsequent world maps
GREEK MAPS
•
Anaximander’s World Map (6th BCE)
– Considered to be the first world map
drawn to scale
GREEK MAPS
•
Hecataeus’ World Map (500 BCE)
– Part of Circuit of the Earth, the first
systematic description of the known world
GREEK MAPS
•
Dicaearchus’ World Map (3rd BCE)
– First meridian and parallel (diaphragma)
– Encircling ocean gone (for now)
An explosion of
geographic
information
occurred during
Hellenistic times
Alexander’s
exploits produced
volumes of
information
The Great Library
at Alexandria was
a premier
storehouse
GREEK MAPS
•
Eratosthenes’ World Map (220 BCE)
– The father of scientific cartography, and
first to calculate Earth’s circumference
GREEK MAPS
•
Orb of Crates (150 BCE)
– Based on Homer’s Ulysses
– Originally a 10 foot wide globe
Influence shifted from
Alexandria to Rome
during the GrecoRoman period
Greek cartography
was incorporated into
the Roman world, and
distributed beyond
GREEK MAPS
•
Strabo’s World Map (beginning of CE)
– We have his 17 volume Geography intact
– Recommended construction on a globe
GREEK MAPS
•
Ptolemy’s World Map (150 CE)
– The World Map for over 1,000 years
• Based on a projection
• Derived from lon/lat tables
• No more encircling ocean
• Caspian Sea enclosed
• Most complete geography
• Enclosed Indian Ocean
GREEK MAPS
•
Ptolemy’s Projections (150 CE)
– A major cartographic breakthrough
Conic Projection
Resulted in far less areal and angular
distortion than orthogonal grids used
previously. With slight modifications, this
projection is still in use today.
Pseudoconic Projection
Reduced distortion even further, but was
more difficult to construct. Ptolemy
recommended this second projection to
all but the lazy.
GREEK MAPS
•
Ptolemy’s Regional Maps (150 CE)
– Larger scale maps of smaller regions
This version
produced during the
renaissance using
woodcut techniques
GREEK MAPS
•
Ptolemy’s World Map remained as
“truth” until the renaissance
– It was scientifically-based
– Ptolemy’s reputation as an astronomer
was beyond reproach
– The Roman empire peaked around the
time of Ptolemy; an intellectual vacuum
ensued
ROMAN
MAPS
ROMAN MAPS
•
Peutinger Road Map (335 CE)
– 22 ft long, 1 ft wide
– For use with a written itinerary
ROMAN MAPS
•
Peutinger Road Map (335 CE)
– Entire Roman road network is laid out as
parallel routes
– Extends into Asia and North Africa
Pictographic Symbols!
CHINESE
MAPS
CHINESE MAPS
•
Stone map of China (1140 CE)
– Engraved stone maps were transferred to
paper by ink rubbing
– Used to educate
school children
and emperors
– Highly accurate
representations
of rivers and
locations
CHINESE MAPS
•
Stone map of China (1140 CE)
– Graticule squares represent 100 li (33 mi)
– Represents a cartographic sophistication
unknown in the West at the time
CHINESE MAPS
•
Silk map of China (1470 CE)
– Used to demonstrate the new Confucian
dynasty’s “cosmic legitimacy”
– Spans Korea to Europe (!?)
CHINESE MAPS
•
Paper map of China (1800s)
– Used for
bureaucratic
control of the
empire,
beginning in
the 7th CE
– Yellow River
(Hwang Ho)
– Great Wall
JAPANESE MAPS
JAPANESE MAPS
•
Clouds used to compress distance or
time
JAPANESE MAPS
•
Clouds used to compress distance or
time
MAPS of the
MIDDLE AGES
MAPS of the MIDDLE AGES
•
al-Idrisi’s World Map (1154)
– Based on
Ptolemaic
principles, but
incorporating
Islamic
characteristics
– South at top
MAPS of the MIDDLE AGES
•
al-Gharaib’s World Map (1481)
– Reflects
religious views
of 10th century
Islam
– Centered on
Mecca
– South at top
MAPS of the MIDDLE AGES
•
“T-O” Mappaemundi
– Religious maps devised and promoted by
the early Christian Church
– “O” is the known world with encircling
ocean, and “T” divides the continents
– East is at top
– “T” represents the cross
– The first map printed in
Europe (1472)
MAPS of the MIDDLE AGES
•
The Psalter Map (1260)
– A less obvious T-O
map
– Jerusalem at center;
biblical stories
abound
– Christ at top, holding
a T-O globe
– Red sea in red
MAPS of the MIDDLE AGES
•
Portolan Chart (1500)
– Sea chart that began
the tradition of
“orienting” maps
with north at top
– Radiating lines
correspond to
compass directions,
but were identified
by wind directions
MAPS of the MIDDLE AGES
•
Portolan Chart (1547)
– Prized, but prone to error (didn’t take into
consideration the spherical earth)
“Luxury Edition”
charts were sold to
the wealthy
Scenes on land
were partly based
in truth, and partly
in myth
MAPS of the
RENAISSANCE
MAPS of the RENAISSANCE
•
After 1,000 years, Ptolemy is
rediscovered in Europe
– Revisions accompanied translations
MAPS of the RENAISSANCE
•
Roselli’s World Map (1508)
– The first “whole world” map
– Mythical southern continent (disc. 1820)
MAPS of the RENAISSANCE
•
Apian’s World Map (1530)
– “Heart-shaped world”
resulted by expanding
Ptolemy’s projection
to the entire world
– Quite popular during
the renaissance
MAPS of the RENAISSANCE
•
Waldseemüller’s World Map (1507)
– First to name “America” (Vespucci? Ameryk?)
– Name was later removed…
Purchased by U.S.
Library of Congress
in 2003 for $10
million—the highest
price the library
had ever paid for a
map
MAPS of the RENAISSANCE
•
Ortelius’ World Map (1570)
– From the first modern atlas: Theatrum
Orbis Terrarum (Theater of the World)
MAPS of the
th
th
17 -19 CENTURIES
MAPS of the 17th-19th Centuries
•
Janssonius’ Danish Map (1629)
– High level of accuracy and detail
– He published the 11 volume Atlas Major,
containing the work of a hundred people
MAPS of the 17th-19th Centuries
•
Hondius’ World Map (1630)
– The quintessential renaissance map
– He improved and reissued Mercator’s atlas
MAPS of the 17th-19th Centuries
•
van Kuelen’s World Map (1720)
– Based on Mercator’s projection
– Portolan lines are finally correct (rhumb)
MAPS of the 17th-19th Centuries
•
California as an island (1650)
– Idea came from a 1510 romance novel
– Reinforced by Ascension’s 1602 voyage
– Outlawed by Ferdinand VII in 18th century
MAPS of the 17th-19th Centuries
•
Great Trigonometrical Survey (1837)
– Funded by the East India Company
– Built from a
single baseline
– George Everest
completed the
central spine
EARLY
THEMATIC MAPS
EARLY THEMATIC MAPS
•
Thematic mapping is only about 300
years old
– Developed primarily in Europe
•
Used in conjunction with new statistical
tools to describe
– The physical world (trade winds, magnetic
declination, topography, etc.)
– The social world (population, disease,
ethnicities, etc.)
EARLY THEMATIC MAPS
•
Halley’s Wind Map (1686)
– The first weather map illustrates prevailing
winds
EARLY THEMATIC MAPS
•
Halley’s Declination Map (1701)
– Isogons identify variations in magnetism
EARLY THEMATIC MAPS
•
Smith’s Geological Map (1815)
– First geological map of
Britain, and the basis
for all subsequent
geological maps
– William “Strata” Smith
developed the
“principle of faunal
succession”
EARLY THEMATIC MAPS
•
Harness’ Transportation Map (1837)
– The first flow map
illustrates
transportation
magnitudes via
proportionally
scaled lines
EARLY THEMATIC MAPS
•
Montizon’s Population Map (1830)
– The first population dot density map
EARLY THEMATIC MAPS
•
Snow’s Cholera Map (1855)
– The first
epidemiological
map (dot density)
illustrates cholera
cases in relation to
water pumps
EARLY THEMATIC MAPS
•
d’Angeville’s Population Map (1836)
– An early choropleth
– Tone-value
relationship is
reversed
EARLY THEMATIC MAPS
•
Petermann’s Cholera Map (1848)
– An early density surface illustrating
concentrations of cholera cases
EARLY THEMATIC MAPS
•
Pritchard’s Ethnographic Map (1843)
– A qualitative map
illustrating the
spatial distribution
of ethnic groups
– A chorochromatic
map
(“place-color”)
EARLY THEMATIC MAPS
•
Berghaus’ “Ideal” Geologic CrossSection (1838)
– From one of the most extensive and
detailed early thematic atlases
EARLY THEMATIC MAPS
•
Minard’s Emigration Flow Map (1862)
– Four attributes: magnitude, location,
direction, and nationalities/racial groups
EARLY THEMATIC MAPS
•
Duchatelet’s Prostitute Map (1836)
– A choropleth map illustrating
concentrations of prostitutes in Paris
HISTORY of
CARTOGRAPHY
Cartographic Design for GIS (Geog. 340)
Prof. Hugh Howard
American River College